CNBC’s Mark Haines dies

'Squawk' co-anchor mixed serious analysis with humor

CNBC vet Mark Haines died unexpectedly Tuesday night in Marlboro, N.J., the biz cabler said Wednesday. He was 65.

Net did not cite a cause of death.

Haines, who’d been at CNBC for 22 years, was the founding anchor of the popular morning show “Squawk Box” and was more recently co-anchor of “Squawk on the Street.”

His style was to frequently pepper serious analysis of stocks and companies with humor.

“With his searing wit, profound insight and piercing interview style, he was a constant and trusted presence in business news for more than 20 years,” CNBC president Mark Hoffman told employees in a memo. “From the dot-com bubble to the tragic events of 9/11 to the depths of the financial crisis, Mark was always the unflappable pro. Mark loved CNBC and we loved him back.”

Haines made headlines earlier this month when he bid a teary farewell to his co-anchor Erin Burnett, who was leaving to host her own show on CNN.

Barry Ritholtz, head of the research firm Fusion IQ and a frequent guest on CNBC, said that while other anchors on the network cheered on the stock-market bubble, Haines was always skeptical. “He was trained as an attorney,” Ritholtz said. “He brought that keen lawyer’s eye to everything he did. It wasn’t something often seen in the financial media.”

Haines had a law degree from the U. of Pennsylvania, CNBC said.

Before joining CNBC, Haines worked as a news anchor at TV stations in Philadelphia, New York and Providence, R.I.

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange paused for a moment of silence Wednesday morning in Haines’ memory.